Remembering Madden and the Alamo

When I learned John Madden was retiring, I could have felt bummed; instead, I smiled and remembered the Alamo.

The bearish, booming NFL broadcaster never failed to provide me with colorful fodder during my many years as TV columnist — particularly back in the early ’90s when he’d come to San Antonio to broadcast an exhibition game from the Alamodome.

He had stopped by the Alamo after closing and then lampooned his experience a bit on national TV.

Several months later, I was working the TV critics tour in Los Angeles and spotted Madden outside a press conference that was about to start. The former CBS broadcaster was to be introduced as the new member of “NFL on Fox.”

When I approached him and reminded him of the Alamo incident, I discovered just how big a person he was — and I’m not talking about his size.

He assured me his remarks weren’t meant to put down Texas or the Alamo in any way. “I really was pointing up my own stupidity when I told the story about stopping by the Alamo after it had been closed and being disappointed that there were no signs out front explaining the place’s history Fiesta kicks off with new event you know, telling what exactly happened and where, at the Alamo.”

Instead, he recalled, there were signs that said “no skateboarding, no cameras, no this, no that.” Naturally, in his trademark Madden way, he poked fun of these findings on his CBS broadcast, angering some San Antonians and Texans who watched.

Madden again said he didn’t mean to offend anyone and then shared a kind of happy ending. He’d heard from so many people since the broadcast — history buffs, viewers, radio stations, even a bunch of S.A. schoolchildren who sent Madden letters explaining the Alamo’s history — “that now,” he said jovially, “I know everything there is to know about the Alamo.”

It was a nice encounter, but what happened next was even nicer.

When he walked up on the stage of the press conference, he pointed a finger straight at me, flashed a sheepish smile and did a kind of mea culpa for the dozens of TV writers from around the country.

“When I was in San Antonio televising an exhibition game last year, I said some things about the Alamo,” he declared. “And I just want everyone to know that when I was at CBS, I may not have known what happened at the Alamo. But at Fox, I know what happened at the Alamo!”

It brought a wave of laughter from the press and a couple of follow-up queries.

Madden, who ended up at NBC, always has been a special brand of TV sports character — warm, jovial and extremely human. Even the way he announced his retirement was different:

“Heck, I can’t even say it, but I’ve decided to retire,” he said Thursday.

Yep, he’s all too rare in a world that can be much-too-businesslike. He definitely will be missed by a columnist like myself who constantly seeks something besides the usual x’s and o’s to write about.